Team of the Year: South Hunterdon
Player of the Year: Alex Rosario, Bound Brook.
Coach of the Year: Jason Miller, South Hunterdon.
All-Division Team*: Rosario, Jordan Hawkins, Bound Brook; Justin Roy, South Hunterdon; Kyle Battell, South Hunterdon; Matt Zangara, Manville.

* Just in case anyone in Warren County feels like sending an angry e-mail, it’s only listed as an All-Division Team for simplicity’s sake; it encapsulates just the Courier-News area teams.

Team-By-Team

SOUTH HUNTERDON EAGLES (13-11)
The Eagles nearly went two decades without a state tournament berth, but used went 4-0 during the final week of qualifying to get in. That included a victory over eventual division winner North Warren, a team South hadn’t beaten in three years.
Though they bowed out with a first-round loss to Brearley in the Central Group I bracket, Jason Miller’s team also picked up a late-season win over Bound Brook to stay alive in the division race, clinching a winner record in the Valley while relegating the defending division champs to third place.

BOUND BROOK CRUSADERS (13-14)
Something seemed off as early as a 24-point opening weekend loss at home to Gill St. Bernard’s, and despite a 6-2 start, its tough to say the Crusaders ever really recovered. Despite the dynamic combination of guards Jordan Hawkins and Alex Rosario, head coach Anthony Melesurgo couldn’t find much consistency, as Bound Brook lost to a down Bernards team and was swept by North Warren.
The team did snap a late five-game slide by upsetting Dunellen in the first round of the Central Group I tournament, but the momentum ended in a hurry after a 20-point loss at Point Beach in the quarters.

MANVILLE MUSTANGS (6-17)
It was another long year for the Mustangs, but they did take a small step forward in their second year under Marty Geiger, even if hardly anyone noticed.
Coming off a miserable two-win campaign, Manville swept division rival Belvidere, beat Sussex Tech twice and even knocked off a team from mighty Union County (albeit 3-22 Roselle Park) on their way to six wins. And while those teams weren’t beating down the door to get into the NJSIAA Tournament, you have to start somewhere. The trick next year will be replacing three key seniors as the Mustangs try not to take two steps back.

About Mike New

Mike New is former writer at the Home News Tribune, having covered Middlesex County softball in 2009 and 2010. A 2008 graduate of Rutgers University, he served as sports editor and managing editor of The Daily Targum. Now an assistant in the publishing world, he has returned to In the Paint and will be a weekly contributor on Sundays.